


Intertwining Your Soul with Somebody Else

by Macksayev



Category: Rurouni Kenshin
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-07
Updated: 2018-11-07
Packaged: 2019-08-20 06:26:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16550660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Macksayev/pseuds/Macksayev
Summary: Modern day AU Sano/OFC, Sano/Megumi for a second if you squint.Ibuki Sakura waited her entire life dreaming of the day she would see her soulmate's name and the day they would meet.She never expected that she could fall in love with someone else.





	Intertwining Your Soul with Somebody Else

Soulmate marks enraptured Sakura from the first moment she learned about them. 

As a child she voraciously gathered every bit of information she could find- the whole concept was so romantic! 

She learned that the marks appeared at different ages for everybody, but more commonly within a five year span of the first time two soulmates would meet.

The mark would appear where the mate would touch the other for the first time. The first name of one person's soulmate would be inscribed in the other person's handwriting in that spot.

That meant that some people were born with the mark, some appeared when the person was young, and sadly to her childish mind, some appeared when the person was very old!

Sakura's soulmate's handwriting appeared on her wrist the day she turned seventeen.

She spent her entire adolescence obsessed with her soulmate and she finally had a name!

The day “Hajime” appeared on her wrist was a joyful one.

The day that she nearly slipped into the street and felt a very firm hand grip her wrist and wrench her backward into his arms was a confusing one. 

It was also the day she learned her soulmate was almost twenty years her senior and was married to boot.

He was a very stern, no nonsense type of man that Sakura could see herself falling head over heels for.

The way he narrowed his eyes on his darkly handsome face and spoke with his sharp low tones would have been enough for an instant crush. 

However, the coffee he suggested they grab was merely meant to stamp out the fantasies she had in her head.

“I am nearly 40, Sakura, and I have a wife. This soulmate situation is a burden. You should find someone else.”

“F-find someone e-else?!” Sakura's voice cracked and squeaked around the unimaginable words.

“Of course. Listen, my wife's soulmate died the year they met. Your name only appeared on me last month. People end up with other people all the time.”

She didn't know she was crying until he handed her his handkerchief.

“Listen, you seem like a smart girl, and you're certainly attractive. You won't have any trouble finding someone. Trust me, you can and will love somebody else. Their name doesn't have to be stamped on your body.”

-

The only memory she had of Hajime-san was that bittersweet one.

The dream of finding her soulmate and having a magical, romantic moment with them died with the wedding band on his hand.

It was hard to let go of something she had dreamed about for a majority of her life, but Hajime-san had also given her hope.

She could find love outside of him.

Once she stopped focusing so much on her soulmate mark (and his damned elegantly written name) she found couples everywhere that had other names on their bodies.

Timelines didn't always match up, people died, people had aspirations bigger than love that took them away from their soulmates. The list for reasons why people were with other people was endless when she did a bit of research.

The day she met Sanosuke had changed her life for good. 

The first time he heard the story about her soulmate he frowned in that straightforward way that was wholly Sano and said, “That really sucks- after all that time waiting for the guy and he was married.”

She asked about his soulmate mark once, wondering if it was under the compression sleeve he had on his elbow.

He laughed her off, telling her the only thing under the compression sleeve was a fucked up elbow from a bar fight. 

He said he didn't have a soulmate mark, but that it didn't matter just before kissing her for the first time.

After 6 months they moved in together in a tiny apartment in the city. 

He brought home houseplants and trinkets that reminded him of her or anything that would make her smile. 

He frequently wrote her notes- some romantic but mostly tiny observations that would make her laugh before she went to work, things like “I just saw a cloud that looked like a chopped daikon. Hotpot tonight? -Sanosuke” and what else could she do but save each and every one?

She thought fondly of Hajime-san in times like that- of how he had been so right. She loved Sanosuke as much as she always dreamed she would love her soulmate.

It has only been a year dating Sano but she is sure she wants to spend the rest of her life with him.

She scrawls her a note to him before heading out for the day.

She could text him and she will later, but she loves the idea of him coming home from work and seeing a little reminder of how much she thinks of him even when they're apart.

Even when she's feeling insecure.

Or possibly, especially because she's feeling insecure.

Recently Sanosuke mentioned a new hire at the gym he works at- a trainer with a specialty in nutrition named Megumi.

Sakura thought nothing of it until she met Megumi at one of the group outings.

Sexy only begins to describe what Megumi radiates. She is shapely and strong and she has perma-bedroom eyes.

The fact that Sakura feels a little childish next to her didn't really sting until Sano's old buddy Yoita joined them at the bar and turned to Megumi, grinning and saying, “You must be the girl Sano has told me all about!”

Sanosuke corrected him, introducing Megumi as his coworker and Sakura as his girlfriend. Yoita drove the knife in deeper, pulling a confused look and saying that Megumi seemed like his type.

Sakura, with her oversize sweater and overalls and polka dotted sneakers felt like an utter kindergartner next to Megumi with her heels and impeccable dress.

Sakura hated the thought that it was possible that Sanosuke might have a soulmate mark with some loopy font “Megumi” somewhere on his body.

She was so positive that it lie in hiding somewhere that she did not look for it. 

She couldn't. It would kill her to know that Sano had a name and it wasn't hers.

With that thought in mind she makes the decision and schedules a half personal day.

She unlocks the door to their apartment, balancing the groceries on her hip as she kicks her shoes off to walk inside.

“I'm home!”

“Welcome home babe,” he calls from their bedroom.

“I have ingredients for hot pot and I also have something else for you,” she finishes coyly, smiling to herself.

“Oh yeah,” he rounds the corner into the kitchen. “What's that?”

“Help me chop veggies and I'll show you, kay?”

Sanosuke pulls her into his arms and kisses her.

“First tell me about your day. I saw your note and it made me smile, I was hoping it meant you had a good morning.”

Still wrapped in his embrace Sakura rests her head against his chest. 

“I did have a good morning. Work was ok and the end of my day was pretty interesting. Like I said, veggie chop first mister!”

She forgets about the vegetables briefly as he kisses her again. She has half a mind to drag him to bed but she really wants to make dinner first.

Sano is so single minded sometimes that she is breathless with laughter when he chops the mushrooms and daikon with lightning speed, looking up expectantly as soon as he's done.

“I have a present for you.”

“Where is it?” he says, looking under her shopping bag.

“Remember the first time we danced?” she says shyly, putting her knife down.

“How could I forget? Your eyes were practically sparkling in the moonlight,” he smiles and puts his knife down as well.

She pulls her hoodie off, turning to show him the bandage on her shoulder blade.

“Sakura, did you get a tattoo?”

She pulls the bandage away, holding her breath.

Keeping each note with his little sign off has come in handy. “Sanosuke” is permanently etched in his unique scrawl on the very first place she can really remember him touching on their second date.

“Sakura,” his voice is soft and so very fond that her heart feels like it's overflowing with love.

“Why?” he manages and she turns to take his big hands in hers.

“I love you so much,” she blurts, wiping her tear filled eyes. “This is it for me, Sanosuke. The mark on my wrist is a memory that taught me that I could find and love someone else and I do. I love you. I choose you, I choose your name.”

He laughs and kisses her again and again until she is breathless and he is still laughing.

“I haven't been completely honest with you, Sakura.”

When he unrolls his compression sleeve she can see the scar running down the back of his arm but on his upper arm in small, untidy very familiar letters she can see it clear as day: “Sakura”

“Sanosuke!” she yells, her heart in her throat.

“I was embarrassed at first,” he admits, rolling the sleeve back up his arm.

“The sleeve helps with the pain but I didn't want you to feel bad after telling me about your soulmate. After that, I felt so lucky that you wanted to hang around me that it didn't feel as important that I had your name but you didn't have mine.”

He traces his finger in a circle around the tender flesh of her new tattoo.

“But this is something else.”

He laughs and kisses her again.

“God, I love you Sakura.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fic I've completed featuring my RK OC Sakura and it's an AU ^^; (I am completely ignoring my old ff.net account with a shudder at how bad the writing must be from 10+ years ago)


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